UPDATE: According to Michael J. Brotherton’s attorney, John Terry of Morse Bratt Andrews & Terry LLP, the Seattle Municipal Court case against Brotherton was dismissed because he had three alibi witnesses placing him in Vancouver at the time, and because a key witness was unable to identify him in a photo laydown.
A former Battle Ground middle school teacher who assaulted his wife pleaded guilty Wednesday in Clark County Superior Court and was sentenced to 10 days in jail.
Michael J. Brotherton, 47, was ordered to report Saturday morning to the Clark County Jail, court records show.
Brotherton pleaded guilty to fourth-degree domestic violence assault and domestic violence harassment, a gross misdemeanor.
In his plea paperwork, Brotherton acknowledged that if he had gone to trial, there’s a chance a jury could have found him guilty so he opted to take a plea deal on lesser charges. Brotherton was originally charged with two counts of second-degree domestic violence assault.
Judge Scott Collier sentenced Brotherton to a total of 364 days in jail but suspended all but 10 days for five years, court records show.
In June, Brotherton was arrested for allegedly stalking his wife and one of their children in Seattle. That case — one count of domestic violence stalking and two counts of violating domestic violence protection orders filed in Seattle Municipal Court — was dismissed Dec. 7 without prejudice, meaning it could be re-filed at a later date.
Brotherton was placed on leave from Laurin Middle School in March. According to district spokeswoman Rita Sanders, he resigned Dec. 31, 2018.
According to Superior Court records, Brotherton’s wife told police he assaulted her Feb. 3, 2018. She said he became angry with her because she was five minutes late in getting home from a class that day, and he grabbed her face and mouth, restricting her breathing and causing her mouth to bleed.
She also reported that Brotherton would “choke” her on a nearly monthly basis, according to court records, and said that Brotherton, in September 2017, strangled her to the point of losing consciousness.
Court records show that she filed for divorce in June.
As part of his sentence, Brotherton was ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation and any necessary treatment, and he is not to own firearms. A five-year no-contact order with his wife is also in place.
